A morning cuppa in the warm English sun before setting off.
After a good night’s sleep (we finally arrived at our little cottage in Ambleside at midnight after driving from London) we set off to explore the Lake District – or at least the south western part of it. We drove around Windermere Lake to reach Furness Abbey, a grand monastic ruin, dating from the 12th century. Once housing hundreds of monks and commanding much of the region's lands it was abandoned during Henry VIII’s rule when he set out to curb the church’s influence. Basically, after being implicated in a plot against the king the abbot and monks had a choice of either abandoning the abbey or facing charges of treason. Probably wisely, they decided to depart.
Heading on towards the coast we stopped off to view the remains of a Roman bathhouse at Ravenglass before visiting the remarkable Hardknott Roman Fort. Housing 500 soldiers this fort, spectacularly sited high up in the pass, guarded the Roman road from Ravenglass to Ambleside.
The pass itself was a fantastic, if at times a tad scary, drive.
Day two in the Lakes – time to explore the northern section of this wonderful district. We headed off firstly to see the Castlerigg Standing Stones near Keswick. Built around 4,500 years ago, like all the similar sites in England, it’s purpose it unknown – obviously its has some religious significances.
From there we opted to do a loop which took us over the Honister Pass, another fantastic mountain pass – narrow roads, towering hillsides and steep gradients (ie a lot of fun really) back towards Keswick and Brougham Castle.
Commenced in the 13th century it was a not a royal palace although it did serve to host Kings as guests until it was partially demolished in 1691. The standing ruins are quite moving and visitors can still climb the spiral staircase to the top of the main keep.
To return to Ambleside we decided to take the route over the Kirkstone Pass, including the road down from the top called “The Struggle”
The pass itself was a fantastic, if at times a tad scary, drive.
From there we opted to do a loop which took us over the Honister Pass, another fantastic mountain pass – narrow roads, towering hillsides and steep gradients (ie a lot of fun really) back towards Keswick and Brougham Castle.